MFA DESIGN + TECHNOLOGY THESIS

The New School, Parsons School of Design

Course Description: Co-taught by studio and writing faculty, the MFA Design + Technology thesis is a systematic investigation of a research question based in the domains of art, design or technology. It requires students to identify an area of study, research its major assumptions and precedents, explain the significance and originality of their undertaking, set forth the process and method for proposing solutions, create prototypes, and offer a conclusion through the production of a body of work. The finished project must evidence originality and experimentation, critical and independent thinking, appropriate organization and format, and thorough documentation. The Thesis Project can take many forms, from fine art works, to soft/hardware tools, interactive installations, online experiences, or social experiments. The studio production section concentrates on the development and further fine-tuning of student’s initial prototypes into a presentable and functional final project suitable for inclusion in MFADT’s thesis events. The course also brings the thesis paper to completion through a series of writing assignments and full drafts of the paper.

INTEGRATIVE SEMINAR: SYSTEMS & STRATEGIES

The New School, Parsons School of Design

Course Description: This course aims to challenge old beliefs about what can be done with writing. It invites inquiry and helps to think about research as an energized idea. In Integrative Seminar, students are encouraged to pursue topics they find perplexing and fascinating. How can curiosity lead to productive questions and answers? How can you create a writing process that is organic and unfolds over time?

In an integrative format that bridges studio and seminar, this course focuses on the specific theme of Systems & Strategies. A system is a set of individual things working together in a network. A strategy is a plan or action. This prompt explores design's role in shifting the social, environmental, and economic impacts of individuals, groups, communities and organizations. How can we use design strategies to promote change, foster creativity, and re-imagine the experiences dictated by a broad range of established systems?

NYC’S ALTERNATIVE SPACES

The New School, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts

Course Description: This course charts the history of alternative spaces in New York City, starting from the 1970's. Students will discover how creative communities have formed their own spaces outside of traditional institutions, and how these spaces played an integral role in supporting experimentation, resistance and diverse cultural representation in New York City. The course will include site visits to places of cultural empowerment like the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and Weeksville Heritage Center; anarchist and punk centers like ABC No Rio and C Squat; interdisciplinary exhibition and performance spaces like Eyebeam, Fashion Moda and WOW Café Theatre; and public space interventions like Elastic City and Art in Odd Places. Through site visits and readings of primary source materials, students will gain first-hand knowledge of these spaces and the experiences of those who helped create them. Students will also read theoretical texts that analyze the meaning of “alternative” in relationship to artists and the spaces they occupy. By the end of the course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of how alternative spaces have shaped and nurtured New York City's vibrant underground art and cultural scene over the last 45 years.

RECLAIMED NYC: SITES OF ACTIVISM & COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

The New School, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts

Course Description: This course traces the history of New York City's deserted urban spaces transformed into sites of resistance and radical cultural preservation. Students will study and visit: Weeksville, one of the first free black communities in the US, the interactive “Whose Streets, Our Streets” project mapping queer activism, the East Village C squat building, the greenspaces in the Bronx's casitas, and more. Students will gain a hands-on awareness of cultural activism in New York City by looking at case studies from past, present and future. Through conversations with artists, activists, and cultural historians, students will learn tactics for community cultural preservation and resistance. Class discussions will be informed by critical analysis of course readings in theory and methodology. By the end of the course, students will discover the vastness of the city's diverse cultural landscape and the grass-roots movements that have shaped communities across the five boroughs.